The final stages of a trial for RTS,S, a malaria vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline, found that the incidences of malaria episodes were cut by up to half.
The first trial conducted over eleven years ago found that the vaccine reduced the chances of a child developing malaria by 30%. The latest stage of the trial was carried out on over 15,000 infants in sub-Saharan Africa and found that in the 6000 infants who received three doses of the drug their chances of developing severe malaria was cut by 47%. The vaccine also reduced the risk of an infant experiencing any episode of malaria by 56%.
Vaccines typically have success rates of up to 90% suggesting that RTS,S must be combined with other malaria prevention strategies such as mosquito nets. The trial will continue for a further three years before the vaccine can become available on the market.
